Jack from Mastering Mental Mayhem LLC

he/him

5.0

(11)

Timezone

America/new York

Language

English

About Jack from Mastering Mental Mayhem LLC

My name is Jack and I host what are called Therapeutic Tabletop Roleplaying Games! I am a Person-Centered, Gender-Affirming, and Trauma-Informed Games Master with CRPA and YPA human services experience, as well as over 10 years D&D and tabletop experience. There is no mechanic difference between TTRPGs and Therapeutic TTRPGs! The only difference is that if you are scared of spiders, we don't deal with spiders. You get to know that any and all content that will be on the table will be tailored to content that you want to see! I also help deal with conflict de-escalation, boundary enforcement, and obstacles in communication between party members. As a Games Master I love to incorporate puzzles, combat, and intrigue - but will balance these in whatever way you and your compatriots in arms find most enjoyable. If you are a table full of combat ready heroes, I'm not going to give you a Runic Sudoku puzzle. If you have any questions, please find me at www.MasteringMentalMayhem.org

At a glance

Less than a year on StartPlaying

1 games hosted

Highly rated for: Inclusive, Creativity, Storytelling

Average response time: 24+ hours

Response rate: 100%

Featured Prompts

My 3 systems I'd bring to a desert island would be

The Electric State, Cyberpunk:RED, and Dead Belt are all really fun uniquely dystopian Sci-Fi games that have individual based gameplay for solo players. I think, on a desert island, the mental escape of being able to vicariously experience technology would provide me an oasis in my isolation.

My favorite shows/movies are

Fantasy: The Lord of the Rings, Princess Bride, One Piece, D&D Movie, The Shannara Chronicles Sci-Fi/Dystopian: Twisted Metal, Jurassic Park, Alien, Gotham, Star Wars, Edgerunners Horror/Supernatural: DanDaDan, Insidious, Supernatural, Feel Good: Parks and Rec

When I'm not running games I'm...

I'm likely playing with my cats, taking care of my garden, or out and about. If not any of the above, then you'll find me reading a TTRPG source book, setting up pages on Foundry VTT, or playing games

How Jack from Mastering Mental Mayhem LLC runs games

I personally use character voices, and use narrative descriptions of "your sword slashes through his chest" instead of "you hit him with a 17". I like to describe blood guts and gore at a PG-13 level, but can tailor the experience so your gameplay is the ESRB content you're looking for- as guided by the Monte Cook Gaming Consent form! On the scale between "Rules as Written" and "The Rule of Cool", I fall somewhere in the middle towards what I like to call "Rules as Intended". A Nat 20 is still a critical, but does not solve world hunger; a Nat 1 will not kill you (at least not every time), but something bad does happen. The games I have played in that I liked the least were the ones where "if you don't do what the Games Master thinks/wants/says, you don't get any screen time". The games I liked the most allowed for the players to say "we want to stop at the shop and investigate the clerk" even when the GM didn't anticipate this. The games I run that I love the most are when I have plans A B and C to get a party moving forward, and they instead come up with X, Y, and Z! I believe everyone at the table deserves a time to shine, and that all [collaborative] play styles are valid. Now, "that's what my character would do" sounds all well and fun, but "if your character wouldn't be cooperating with the rest of the party" then why are you here? While artistic liberties and creative freedoms are what the game is all about, we are all here to do it together, and that means by collaborating.

Jack from Mastering Mental Mayhem LLC's ideal table

My ideal table is composed of a group of players who are all comfortable with both "yes, and" as well as "no, but" play styles. I love players being able to improvise and play off-the-cuff, as well as establish and enforce their boundaries. The best moment's I've had running a game are when players choose to do things completely unanticipated in the interest of collaborating towards the shared goal at hand. It's one thing to "go left field" and choose to do something completely random and irrelevant to the story, but it's another to "throw a curveball" that avoids your obstacles, while still reaching its target.

Featured Prompts

I love it when a player

When a player chooses to do something that is "bad" for the individual character in the aim to help the party or the story. I have personally played at tables where characters have sacrificed memories, levels, or items in order to make sure the mission succeeded. One for All comes before All for One

I think metagaming...

is when PLAYERS talk about the developments or ideas that the CHARACTERS wouldn't have shared or known. It's all well and good to say "I think we should do this because Guy is better than Lad because he has proficiency" if Guy has already shown proficiency. But Lad shouldn't know Guy has a +5.

I think min/maxing...

Min/Maxing is fine, as long as you don't try and take the spotlight away from anyone else. There are people irl who have dedicated their lives to one passion, why wouldn't your character do the same thing? Just don't step on anyone's toes while you do so.